Try the 12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic for 2013 instead. More up-to-date! Fact: You cannot get rid of all the pesticides on conventionally grown fruits and vegetables simply by washing them. In the latest government tests analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), pesticides were found on 68 percent of food samples after […]

The greenest lunch boxes are made of safe, durable materials that do not expose the user to toxic chemicals and eliminate waste. That also goes for the food packaging, beverage containers, utensils and napkins inside. It has been estimated that a schoolchild who uses such a lunch box will save 67 pounds of trash on […]

Try the 12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic for 2013 instead. More up-to-date! Pesticide residues often remain on produce even after you wash it. Therefore, it’s best for your health and your family’s to buy organic fruits and vegetables. If you can’t afford to by everything organic, the best strategy is to focus on […]

How do you raise environmentally aware kids in this materialistic age? In seeking the answer, I look back to my own upbringing in the 1960s shortly before the first Earth Day. Like our neighbors, my family had recently begun using paper napkins instead of cloth and would run the water as if there were an […]

Nowadays, raising healthy children requires more than keeping them safe from germs. It also requires protecting them from toxic chemicals pervading their everyday environment, from phthalates, BPA, organophosphates and PBDE flame retardants to lead and mercury. For tips on how to reduce your children’s risk, read, print and share my latest This Green Life column […]

Try the 12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic for 2013 instead. More up-to-date! Last weekend, I got a friendly warning from a farmer at our local Greenmarket. Holding up the big, beautiful bell pepper I’d selected, he said, “You may find a little friend inside.” Friend? I cast an uncomprehending look at him. “We […]

Is it safe to use an insect repellent on your kids — or yourself — that contains DEET? And are there any safe and effective alternatives? IN SHORT: DEET-based bug repellents may carry some risk, depending on the concentration of DEET in the product and the individual’s health and chemical sensitivity. For a safer, effective […]

Try the 12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic for 2013 instead. More up-to-date! If you can’t afford to get all your food organic (how many people can?), you will be interested in the latest edition of the “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides” from the Environmental Working Group, which lists the fruits and vegetables with the […]

One objection to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) that people often raise is the problem of disposing of them safely due to the mercury they contain. Mercury is a toxin that is particularly dangerous to the developing brains of children (and babies in utero) and is suspected of posing a heart risk to adults. The amount […]

ABOUT

A green living columnist for environmental organizations in her spare time, Sheryl Eisenberg wrote This Green Life for NRDC from 2004-2014 and previously wrote Greentips for the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her "real" life, she designs websites with her firm Mixit Creative for environmental groups and other non-profits and small businesses.